EC Aficionado (was: The Studio Jr.)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by AppleheadMay, Nov 10, 2015.

  1. MrButchi

    MrButchi Gear Master Europe

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  2. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    woops thanks for that catch
    Curious to see how those sound (2a3s).
    The Raytheon driver tube is not as resolving as the bendix but it is better than the one you can add on with the amp. I paid 3 bucks plus shipping for mine.
     
  3. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    looks like a socket saver is in the cards for me short term. doubting rectifier tube rolling will make much difference, yet would appreciate anyone knowing quality NOS GZ34 5AR4 tubes that fit without the socket saver.

    anyone else's front, red power LED not actually emit light?
    i mean, the tube glows bright enough and glorious music is flowing... just a slight inconvenience to otherwise perfection!
     
  4. JK47

    JK47 Guest

    I had the same issue with my power light. I opened up the power supply from the bottom, removing 6 screws (I think it was 6), anyway the feet can stay on. The light is an old fashioned incandescent bulb mounted perpendicular to the red lens cover, I know it's kind of odd, but it is what it is. The bulb is mounted to a bracket that is held by the nut that holds the red lens, there was enough play on mine to slide the bracket so the light bulb lined up better with the red lens, however YMMV. Thanks to @Marvey for the tip on how to get into the power supply. I left the power supply unplugged from the amp and wall for 30 min before attempting to open it up.
     
  5. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    The red light cover on the power supply doesnt emit much light at all, I dont think its a LED right up to the lens. From what I hear this is normal not a big deal. Up means on, down means off.
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    On rectifier tubes: Tried JJ and Shuguang 5AR4 with probes to check voltage drop on B+. Both of these were good. Couldn't hear any difference between the two, although wasn't intently listening. One Sovtek 5AR4 had mismatched diodes and resulted in lower B+. Seemed a little spongier and less tight. Take the small sample size for what it's worth.
     
  7. PacoTaco

    PacoTaco Friend

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    I almost considered NOT asking this, but just to put my mind at ease:

    If I was going to want to order one in February, would this still be available or would it be like a Black Widow situation?
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    This is intended to last for the foreseeable future. There is no reliance on ancient transistors that someone saved up in his garage. This amp is the synthesis of many prior designs, the BA, the 2A3, etc. It's really intended to the main EC offering - keeping it simple.

    The Studio is still available on special order while supplies last. The ZDS we've been trying to kill, but many customers love that OTL sound.
     
  9. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Does anyone else's Aficionado make screeching noises sometimes? When I first turn it on the 2a3s screech quite loudly but putter out pretty quick. Every once in a while I getting high pitched ringing or squealing and tapping the amp seems to either change the pitch or makes it stop. Maybe the tubes are just working themselves out? I also get a hum from the power supply section but it's not that annoying.
     
  10. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Cskip-

    just powered mine down after hours of uptime and back up, no screech.
    will do again in morning after full night time power down cool down.

    yes my tubes whistle up a bit on power up also. sorta cool.

    Af power supply also no hums. plugged into an Emotiva CMX-2.

    sidebar: had at least two goosebump inducing listening tracks tonight. the realism delivered by Af is un-Fing-real.
    i might cry.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2018
  11. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    I haven't experienced that. Mine sings though. No humming or screeching.
     
  12. TheloniuSnoop

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    My BA with the EML mesh 300Bs would do that on warm up. The guy who bought it said it did it all the time, but he was only running the heaters at 4V instead
    of 5V. Once he upped the heaters, it only did it on warm up. Are you running mesh's per chance?
     
  13. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I'm using the Psvanne 2A3-T.
     
  14. Jozurr

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    Have the tubes fully burned in? at least a couple of hundred hours on them? The tubes usually need time to settle
     
  15. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    No, they have approximately 100 hours on them right now.
     
  16. TheloniuSnoop

    TheloniuSnoop Friend

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  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    On turn on, there could be a Star Trek transporter sound for a few seconds from the 2A3s. Don't know if this is the screech.
     
  18. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I'll record some videos tomorrow.
     
  19. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    Holy shit, these have transporters in them?! You must be hearing the Heisenberg Compensator when you power it on. (It knows the location AND state of your audiophile electrons.) No wonder it sounds so good.

    That should be a key bullet point on the AF marketing sheet. NASA engineers would buy these by the truck load.
     
  20. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    The high pitched start up noise was normal behavior for me. As Marv said, the 2A3 can make that kind of noise during warmup (that was across the board with all brands and type I have used, NOS or new production).

    The noises you have while using the amp can be linked to your tubes "farting" (normal behavior from time to time) or microphonic tubes. PSVane isn't exactly known for reliability so all bets are off. Ultimately it boils down to how often it happens, and how much it bothers you.

    Welcome to toobz OCD :D
     

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